Alex Eala Overpowers Italian Foe to Advance in Eastbourne Open

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Alex Eala kicked off her Lexus Eastbourne Open main draw campaign with a bang after dominating world no. 61 Lucia Bronzetti- 6.0, 6.1- during their Round of 32 clash on June 23, 2025, at the Devonshire Park Lawn Tennis Club in England.

Fresh off back-to-back grueling qualifying matches against Zeynep Sonmez and Hailey Baptiste to get to the main draw, Eala was nothing but spectacular in the Round of 32 stage after steamrolling Bronzetti in straight sets.

The learned lessons from the Baptiste match that went the distance were in full display as Eala managed to shake off a slow start and pummeled Bronzetti in the opening set.

Eala exceeded their game plan’s expectations after the Filipina stalwart completed a six-love dub to collect all forms of momentum heading into the second and final set.

From her booming down-the-line forehands to her controlled backhand returns, Eala was bound for a monster performance as she left no crumbs bullying Bronzetti with her on-point baseline attacks.

Bronzetti attempted for a single service hold in the last game set of the first but Eala salvaged two crucial points to return to the driver’s seat, 40-30, and iced the opener with a nine-shot rally victory.

Oozing with confidence when the second set began, Eala didn’t stay away from what was working and stuck to her game plan of punishing Bronzetti in the baseline.

A barrage of top-spin forehands disrupted the Italian’s net game, who decided to close the gap in the first two game sets before returning at the back when her adjustment didn’t give her any favorable results.

The suffering for the Italian went on after only managing to steal a single game set and endured another 20-minute hitting clinic from Eala.

Just like her run-down against Sonmez, Eala wrapped up the second set with a series of ridiculous on-the-rise forehand bombs and sneaky slice strokes when Bronzetti rushed to the net area.

With the victory, Eala might be setting up a rematch against former Grand Slam champion Jelena Ostapenko in the Round of 16 if she comes out with a win over Sonay Kartel.